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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bank — of a river
  5. capital — money
  6. bank — for money
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. capital — a city
  10. clip — a video
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bank — for money
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — from crying
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. trunk — of a car

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com